Product Description

The Female Is The Deadlier Of The Species… A cryptic message. A mysterious organization. A girl with a missing past. These are triggers that launch professional hit woman Mireille Bouquet into the ultimate odyssey of death and vengeance. Joining forces with Yuumura Kirika, a young girl with deadly skills and a forgotten identity, Mireille finds herself thrust into a secret world where the only law is kill or be killed, and where your closest friend could turn out to be your worst enemy. Two female assassins embark on a journey through the ultimate darkness, in the acclaimed animation masterpiece NOIR! Available now for the first time in this complete collectors edition!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27348 in DVD
• Brand: ADV Films
• Released on: 2005-06-14
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 7
• Running time: 650 minutes

Amazon.com
In Paris, professional assassin Mireille Bouquet meets emotionally shattered Kirika Yumura: neither woman can remember her past, but they're both extremely good at killing people. (Kirika doesn't even look--she just points the gun and fires and her victim falls.) The two women form a partnership as "Noir," but after a couple of murders for hire, they realize someone is trying to kill them. The mysterious Soldats seem to be everywhere, so it's kill or be killed. The only recurring characters in Noir are amnesiacs, who are essentially blank slates and therefore not very interesting. Director Kouichi Mashimo may set new record for repeating footage in an animated series--some shots crop up three times in a single episode, including portentous images whose significance is more apparent than real. The result feels like a watered-down combination of Gunsmith Cats and Serial Experiments Lain. This set contains the complete six volume series. (Rated 15 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

The Best - Period
'Noir' was my introduction into Anime, and I have been hooked on genre it ever since. The artwork is incredible, the music is mesmerizing, and the voice actors (both the original Japanese AND the English dub) are perfectly suited for the characters. This collection transcends anime - it is a presentation that anyone can enjoy.

Which brings me to the story itself. It is spread out over 26 episodes [each approximately 21-23 minutes long), and it plays like one 11+ hour long movie. With that noted, it can feel 'slow' in some areas (especially early on) - stick with it during those 'slow' areas, because every line, every flashback, adds to the overall building of a story-line that crescendos into a magnificent finale. By the closing episode, you'll not only be satisfied with the conclusion - you'll wish it had never ended.

Be advised, however - if you are one of those who lives only for anime that is chock-full of mecha and fan service, you will be disappointed. You will find no giant robots or random panty-shots in this anime, which is one of the things that I find so appealing about it.

If you are a person like myself, someone who enjoys action-adventure presentations that are mature and character-driven, I highly recommend 'Noir' - whether you are an anime fan or not.

Great Story, great anime. A true keeper!!!
Noir is truly a great and "out of the ordinary" type of anime worth watching. It is interesting to mention that the story has a sexy touch and at times slight lesbian moments (oh yeah!!).
The story starts with a young beautiful assassin for hire called Mireille Bouquet, who's mysteriously contacted by another beautiful and even younger girl called Kirika Yumura, who's skills as assassin surpasses by far those of Mireille. Kirika needs Mireille's help to uncover her past because she is amnesic, as they try to work together; a mysterious organization is trying to kill them both. Little they both Kirika and Merielle know that their dark past have a lot in common and that the organization trying to kill them (the Soldats) is also part of their past.
As they try to survive and try to uncover the mystery of the Soldats, both girls start to see how entwined their past is and how their survival and future depends on uncovering the truth. Its beauty relies on the fact that at times is rather slow paced (some hard core anime fans can not stand that). Nothing wrong with the slow pace, this adds to the complexity of the 11+ hours, 7-volume story that develops and builds to a great climax and outcome. The slow parts happen when they are off work, sometimes the seem to be contemplating the beautiful views of the French countryside, visiting cafes and fashion shops, or at times they stare at each other in a conspicuous manner for no other reason that to know what are they thinking.
The story also has its fast paced times with lots of action, as the girls do their assassinations in a cold and calculated manner.
The music is superb; it is very rare to see an anime with such good music. Not only the music is great, but it also fits the slow and the fast story parts to such extent that it brings the overall anime experience to unexpected heights. This 7 DVD volume collection (as well as the 2CD soundtrack) is a keeper and I highly recommend it!!

good dark series
I watched this anime a year ago and though it was very good I have not touched upon it again. It was a dark series, very well written, always leaving you at the edge and kind of confused state. The characters were both matched correctly there voices so mysterious that you probably could never forget. When an action seen came on this anime does get the coolest, in my vote, for the song. The anime was also drawn beautifully even the battle seens were not corny and left you wondering and kind of wishing that you could be that cool. It was an intense anime which I do recommend though it could be bit graphic.